• April 10, 2023

The Necessity for Humane Policing in India

GS 2 Government Policies & Interventions Issues Relating to Development Important Aspects of Governance

In Context

• Concern has recently been expressed regarding the extent of human rights violations in police stations across the nation.

Issue of inhumane policing

• The U.S. is one country that has had far too many instances of police torture.
• The annals of policing in many countries is littered with incidents of excess. In contrast, police conduct is more civilised in the majority of Europe, including the United Kingdom.

Global issue

• Against the known instances of police brutality across the globe, we can safely assume that a large number of cases of torture have also gone unreported.
• This is primarily an assault on women.
• Only about 10% of complaints are believed to have been registered.
• Also, only a small percentage of the offenders have been convicted.

India’s case

• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data disclose that, although the number of custodial deaths varies from year to year, between 2010 and 2019, an average of approximately 100 custodial deaths occurred annually. Approximately 3.5 of them allegedly perished due to injuries caused by police officers, 8.6 while escaping custody, 28.1% due to suicide, and the remainder due to various causes such as illness and road accidents. A judicial investigation, which is required for every suspicious fatality in custody, was conducted in 26.4% of cases.

Reasons for Police Excesses:

Stress & pressure on Police force

• Police excesses continue to increase because the pressure that the average police officer faces from his superiors has not diminished.
• The pressure to generate outcomes has increased.
• Our nation has robust security forces. It is a monumental undertaking to spread the message of ethics to the lowest levels of such massive organisations.

Misconception of physical force

• Many in the political sphere believe that without the use of physical force against misbehaving citizens, the quality of surveillance cannot be enhanced and law and order cannot be maintained. They have unabashedly advocated the use of third-degree and extralegal crime-fighting techniques.

Demand for quick confession

• One of the alleged reasons for using extreme methods is to extract a quick confession from the suspect.
• Though the total police force has increased in the last five years, the civil police mostly remain overstretched.

Suggestions :

Ethics during training

• The issue is whether a recruit’s rough edges could be smoothed by ethics training at the time of induction.
• It is absurd to believe that ethics training will have a lasting impact. The pressures in the field are so great that the influence of ethics swiftly dissipates.

Top-to-bottom indoctrination

• Here, the DGPs and IGPs play a crucial role in educating new recruits on the importance of adhering to the law and exhibiting civilised behaviour.

Sending strong directions

• It should be made abundantly clear that “illegal physical treatment of criminal suspects will not be tolerated, and such conduct will be subject to a clinical and credible investigation by an independent body.”
• Indeed, deaths in police custody are a cause for significant concern. Each of these deaths must be thoroughly investigated to uncover the truth.

Reducing arrests

• The most important measure to reduce instances of custodial violence is to reduce the number of arrests. • The law on arrest states that arrests for crimes punishable by up to seven years in prison should only be made if the arresting officer is convinced that the arrest is necessary to prevent the offender from tampering with evidence, committing additional crimes, etc.

Various recommendations:

Separating investigations from law & order

• The most important measure to reduce instances of custodial violence is to reduce the number of arrests.
• The law on arrest states that arrests for crimes punishable by up to seven years in prison should only be made if the arresting officer is convinced that the arrest is necessary to prevent the offender from tampering with evidence, committing additional crimes, etc.

Guidelines by the apex court

• In D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal (1996), the Supreme Court established guidelines to prevent custodial torture and to increase the police officer’s accountability and transparency.
• The majority of these guidelines, including the provision of information to a friend or relative about an arrest, a medical examination, and permission to meet with a counsel, have been incorporated into the CrPC.
• Investigating officers comply with them in the majority of cases.

Covering police stations under CCTVs

• In Paramvir Singh v. Baljit Singh (2020), the Supreme Court ordered states to cover more areas of each police station with Surveillance cameras and to provide 18-month storage for audio-visual recordings.

Way ahead

• In a civilised, rule-of-law-based society, death in custody is arguably one of the most heinous offences. Therefore, the guilty must be severely punished for his misconduct and illicit act.
• Police officers must understand that their duty is to safeguard human rights, not violate them. Our commitment to the protection of human rights is absolute and unwavering.
• They must be routinely sensitised and encouraged to employ scientific interrogation and investigation tools. Numerous measures have been taken thus far to prevent prison violence, and no effort will be spared to eradicate it entirely.

Police Reforms:

Supreme Court’s Prakash Singh judgement on police reforms

• In September 2006, the Supreme Court ordered all states and Union Territories to implement police reforms in a landmark ruling.
• The ruling stipulated a series of measures to be taken by administrations to ensure the police could perform their duties without fear of political interference.

Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP

• Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP to prevent the appointment of officers about to retire within a few months.
• To prevent political interference, a minimum tenure was sought for the Inspector General of Police, so that they are not transferred mid-term by legislators.

Police Establishment Boards (PEB)

• The SC further directed postings of officers being done by Police Establishment Boards (PEB) comprising police officers and senior bureaucrats to insulate powers of postings and transfers from political leaders

State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA)

• It was suggested that the State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) be established in order to provide a forum for individuals who have been aggrieved by police action.

State Security Commissions (SSC)

• The SC directed the separation of investigation and law and order functions to improve policing better, setting up of State Security Commissions (SSC) that would have members from civil society and forming a National Security Commission.